This is a brilliant large-format book. It charts the Jewish/
Austrian film director's traumatic flight from Nazi Berlin in 1933 to Paris, then to permanent exile in Hollywood. We witness
his struggles with moguls, producers, actors and crew who were
unable to cope with his innate perfectionism. His life and his
films are inextricably entwined. The detailed text is backed
by relevant documents: unstamped passports, love-letters to and from Marlene Dietrich, scrawled film notes, reports of witch-
hunts, and stunning photographs of Lang at work on his many
films. The book is a fitting tribute to our Last Dinosaur. I
highly recommend it to everyone who loves films.

This book was so great for our Vienna trip! We were the most well-prepared travellers for this city, which cut out plenty of stress, and allowed us to really enjoy our Vienna experience!

Eva Ibbotson is a wonderfully charming writer with memorable and funny characters. Yes, as the review above states, her stories are as light and sweet as the Viennese desserts she often refers to, but her heroines are not sacharine or dull. But, let's face it, who would you rather spend your afternoon with: charming, witty and fun characters or someone from Hannibal? Ibbotson developes characters with personalities you want to meet and know. I highly recommend Glove Shop as well as any and all of her books, her adult ones as well as her juvenile fiction. Let's face it, if you like books filled with "throbbing and panting" or congealed blood Ms. Ibbotson is not the writer for you.

This book covers the early years of hitler (not only the years in vienna). This is in my view the only book that really explains where Hitler ideas came from and how they developed. It also gives you a introduction of austrian politics at the beginning of the century and gives an insight to why the austrian empire fell apart. Hitler is not described as an deamon but as lazy, not quite untalented man with some social defects like being a complete egocentric. I suppose there a lot of persons like him running around in the streets today. What formed his political Ideas was the situation in vienna at the time. This is described perfectly. Hitler stayed with his ideas even when he was old, which makes you understand some of his fanatic views. Sadly the book ends when Hitler moves to Munich so you will not understand how Hitler became Hitler. The book is easy to read and if you've been to vienna you will enjoy it even more.

The story of Mr. Steindling moved, fascinated and challenged me to re-think my ideas on resistance and struggle in the face of a situation that must have seemed hopeless at times. It's not about winning its about living by your principles and putting your life on the line to defend them. People in adverse situations all over the world can take hope and strength from this book. A must read.

This is an excellant book. Unlike many others, it gives you more than the title suggests. It actually starts in the 1820's, and gives a brief synopsis of the Jews in Vienna before this period also. The basic format of the book is to concentrate on the main figures and issues that Viennese Jewry faced in the different periods that the book covers. The author gives a quite fair treatment to all of the figures in the period irregardless of their political or religious views, and open-mindedly examines the issues that Viennese Jewry faced and the decisions that they made. Viennese Jewry in this period was very important and instructive. Of course the most famous figure is Theodore Hertzl, who is treated at length. Vienna at the time had a very diverse Jewish community. It ranged from the super assimilated aristicratic Jews like the Rothchilds and Baron Hirsh to the ultra-Orthodox immigrants from Galicia. The issues that they faced ranged from assimilation, Zionism, anti-Semitism, to inter-Jewish relations.

I picked up Measure for Measure knowing nothing about the play other than it was not an early work and that it was a comedy. I knew Shakespeare as an enjoyable Wit and was looking forward to a virtuoso display of the English Language. I certainly got this, but this is by no means a "light" play. In fact, the more I looked into it, the more disturbing it became.

The plot is quite involved with many twists and turns, based on many unlikely situations. Read it like any other comedy and you will be fine.

The characters are what's disturbing. There are no clear "white hats" in this story. Claudio sets his sister up which causes much of the story. The Duke handles people like puppets. Angelo is certainly not worthy of trust and there are some hints that the Duke even knows this when he leaves him in charge. Isabella? Well, there are two strong attributes to her personallity - Future Nun and also as Harold Bloom described her, the sexiest female character in Shakespeare.

There are many "lowlife" characters as well. Most important and probably most interesting would be Lucio who moves the plot around. Also quite interesting and infuriating would be Pompey.

I read it in the New Cambridge Edition. Brian Gibbons gives an interesting introduction which goes over the original context for the play, a discussion of its sources, as well as a production history. His notes to the text are also quite good. My eyes glazed over a bit on the textual analysis...not interesting to me at this point.

If you want "uplifting" or "inspirational", pick something else. If you are willing to let these interesting, ambigious characters into your mind, you will have a fine time as one of the finest artists of the English Language leads you around their stories.

I especially admire the wide range of subjects and forms in this splendid book, especially the author's gifts for both lyricism (as in the elegies for her late mother) and wit of the highest order (as in the title poem).

If you are looking for information on what was going on around Vienna during Mozart's life time, then this book is for you. In between Mozart's two stays in Vienna, the author excerpts, (from an earlier publication of the times), a near complete listing of minute details of Vienese life. Fashions, wages, religious happenings, crime and punishment, the different people living in the city, the pubs, coffeehouses, and so much more. Great book to have in your Mozart collection for reference. I learned a lot. At these prices, you can't lose!

This was my favorite of a trilogy written by Sarah Gainham concerning Austria under Hitler. It is also the first book in the trilogy. Entering the fictional but authentic world of Viennese theater people, we see the impact of the Anschluss on unexceptional citizens. A non-Jewish actress with a Jewish husband struggles to cope with all the pressures and threats surrounding her because of history and politics. The reader also learns much about the Austrian theater world. I would like to see the trilogy reprinted for a new generation of readers. Do you think we could get Oprah to consider it as a selection? P.S. I have no connection to author or publisher--just remember this book as one that really made an impact on me.